A retired deputy has turned his backyard into a shipyard.

Ask Churchville resident Scott Smith about the 41-foot-long yacht he’s building in his backyard, and he’ll be glad to tell you about it.

“This is what I was meant to do, and every day I wake up and look forward to working on this project,” Smith said.

He may be making it out of wood, and yes, he gets some looks.

“Obviously people tell you you’re crazy,” Smith said.

But he’s not preparing for a great flood.

“You get the Noah joke, and every time we have a big rain storm and it’ll be pouring, I’ll make the joke on Facebook; it doesn’t look so stupid now does it?” Smith said.

But his yacht will have the ability to cross an ocean.

“I’m not saying we’ll ever cross an ocean, but our dream is to kind of maybe spend our winters down south, maybe in the Caribbean,” Smith said.

He’s been building for nearly two years, and estimates it’ll take another four to complete.

“We’re committed, yeah, we’re committed,” Smith said.

But he says all the time and money will be well worth it.

“Somewhere along the lines as adults, we stop dreaming," Smith said. "It’s frivolous, it’s pointless — and life really isn’t fun if you don’t have dreams.”

Those that want to follow his project can do so here.